I have been taking bjj for about a few months now. Currently i am taking a break as i have exams (important ones) and must devote my time to that.I will return to training in a few months however, and will also begin training with weights, which i'm not new to but just have stopped currently.I've never done both bjj and bodybuilding before, and when i say lifting weights i don't simply mean conditioning or sport specific training, but a full bodybuilders routine, training for hypertrophy.Are these two compatible- i mean that considering the time you devote to bodybuilding, can you train bjj as well? What the boggest issue is here is recovery- say i train my legs on Monday, that means they will have to be rested all of that day, and will be knackered for two days after. By training all body parts this means at least one part of me will be sore everyday.Does the activity of BJJ prevent muscle recovery when sore and therefore stop its growth? Also, will being sore from lifting mean you cant train bjj properly?I presume many will be knowldegeable on a subject like this, replies will be greatly appreciated, thanks.

There is no reason why you cannot develop muscle mass and practice MA's. You only have to look at Jeff Monson, matt hughes, Randy Couture, and others to see that mucularity can be maintained with no detriment to your MA performance.For how to balance everything, I would head over to the strength forum and raise the topic there, or PM 'Dereck' who not only trains a 3 day bodybuilding split, but also rolls and competes in grappling competitions- he will fill you in on the realities of the limitations you are setting yourself, and the advantages that his training has afforded him.If you are aiming to reach a high level in bodybuilding (competitive standard), then the demands on your physiology, and the risks through injury will make MA an unhappy bedfellow, and you may have to resign yourself to not having your cake and eating it, but if you just want to be big and strong, lift weights, look ok in a t-shirt, and enjoy your MA, then there is no reason why you cant achieve that.

thanks for the reply. That's exaclty what i'm aiming for- just to build some size and definition, not aiming anywhere near competitive standard. I was thinking about mma fighrers who obviously lift, as you pointed out, but thought they might do something different like sport specific.

Well, they do. Like other pro sportpeople their physiques are largely a 'side effect' of training for strength and explosive power to help performance in their chosen sports. Look at NFL running backs, 100m sprinters, the majority of boxers, gymnasts, the list goes on- all display impressive physiques that are a result of consistent endeavour and good nutrition. If Matt Hughes was shown significant irrefutable proof that coming into a fight with a big gut and weaker shoulders would give him a 50% increase in his fight performance, then you can bet your a$$ he would do it. Thats his priority. The fact that olympic and functional lifting are hugely beneficial to strength performance influences the fact that he uses resistance as part of his conditioning, and it just so happens to reflect in his physique.The easiest way to decide what is truly your priority is to answer the following question honestly.

A genie in a bottle offers you 1 of the following 2 wishes:

1. You can be as buff as you want, but never get the hang of your MA

2. You can be a Bjj god, but you will always be destined to have Homer Simpson's physique

Which you choose in your heart?

Be honest with yourself, and prioritise your training to achieve your true goal.

Hey Kumite99, I seen your thread and thought I'd respond. Cord is bang on with his words and you will find he always is when it comes to developing your body with weights.

My experience was weight lifting prior to martial arts. I was big into body building routines and have found that weights and martial arts go together very well. It is however my experience that you will never truly make the gains in weight lifting/body building that you would by doing them as your main and only focus. With the introduction of martial arts I found for myself that I lost size and strength but on a positive note I was quicker, smarter, faster and more knowledgeable which was a good trade off.

Prior to taking time off for an ACL operation, I was doing a Push, Pull and Leg routine (3 day split) while doing TKD and BJJ. My workout was geared more towards strength though size is always important to me so would go to failure usually only on my last set. Currently while in recovery and unable to to TKD/BJJ I am working solely on a body building routine of one body part per day with goals of working out every day; though life gets in the way. When I'm able to go back to classes I will probably change things up to find a balance between strengthening and body building.

I see no reason why you cannot do a body building routine and do BJJ. You are not trying to be a amateur/professional body builder so not making those extra gains will not hamper you. You of course will need to watch out for over training as that can be an issue and I deal with it often and need to take period breaks in order to continue.

If you do decide on a body building routine rather then a strengthening routine, I would suggest one things; lift explosively. Many body building routines tell you to lift slow and lower slower. While that may be good for some, for grappling you need to lift explosively and lower slightly slower. This explosiveness will aid you on the ground such as the bench press when you need to move some heavy weight that is on your chest. How you train is how you will react and if you train explosively then you will be.

I'm rambling as I'm working and writing this so if any questions put them up here or PM me.

_________________________"IF I COME ... I'M BRINGING THE PAIN WITH ME"